ELCA Action Alert: Support Temporary Protected Status Holders

Action AlertELCA AdvocacyCongressImmigration and AsylumEvacuees and Refugees

Jul 8

Ask your senators to pass legislation to protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders. Take action today!

Since this alert was issued, DHS has granted only a brief extension of work authorization for some TPS holders, while Senate action is still needed to provide meaningful protection.

On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a decision that will allow the U.S. administration to proceed with terminating TPS - a legal immigration status intended to protect people from returning to countries where they face harm - for more than 330,000 people from Haiti and 3,800 from Syria.

The termination of legal status threatens to separate families, destabilize local U.S. economies and force people to return to countries where they may face severe humanitarian crises, violence and threats to their lives. The decision will likely also impact more than 1.3 million TPS holders from nations including Venezuela, which is faced with recovering from a devastating earthquake.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, ELCA presiding bishop, shared a statement on SCOTUS immigration decisions. As Lutherans, we confess a faith that stirs us to welcome and protect the vulnerable, to honor the dignity God bestows on every human being, and to uphold laws and policies that provide refuge to those fleeing violence, persecution and profound hardship.

The ELCA has called on the administration to do what is right - to extend TPS protections where conditions remain dangerous and unstable and support comprehensive immigration reform that reflects both justice and mercy. The House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan bill to extend protections for Haiti TPS holders.

Use this Action Alert to ask your senators to co-sponsor the Senate version of the House bill, S. 4814, and to urge the administration to protect TPS holders who face loss of legal status and deportation to countries where they are not safe.

Customize this message with your faith convictions and connections to immigrants or TPS holders in your community.

Thank you for your advocacy!

14 JULY UPDATE:

On July 10, 2026, DHS/USCIS temporarily extended work authorization for some TPS holders. Reuters reported that work permits for more than 330,000 Haitian TPS holders were extended to July 24, while permits for TPS recipients from Ethiopia, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Myanmar were extended for one additional week. This was a short reprieve, not a permanent solution.

Faith and immigrant-rights groups are still pushing the Senate to act. The House had passed legislation to extend Haiti TPS protections through 2029, and an identical Senate bill, S. 4814, has been introduced.

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Read the Action Alert in the ELCA Advocacy Action Center

Arizona Congressional Delegation